How To Take Screenshots On A Surface Tablet & Touch Screen Laptop In Windows 10

Windows 10 comes with a built-in screenshot tool that lets you capture your entire screen or capture the active window on your screen. The screenshots are automatically saved to a Screenshots folder in the Pictures library. The feature works flawlessly until you try and use it on a tablet where you may have nothing more than the on-screen keyboard to work with. The on-screen keyboard, whether it’s the default layout or the standard keyboard layout lacks the PrntScr key that is needed to execute the screenshot function. In order to take a screenshot on the Surface tablet, or a touch screen laptop that you’re using in tablet mode you have to use the hard keys on the side of the device, just like a smartphone.

On a Surface tablet, and most popular two-in-one touch screen laptops there is a Windows button on the side or at the bottom of the screen. It’s super easy to spot on the Surface but you might have to look closely on a laptop. This button is not the same as the power button and will have the Windows logo on it.

To take a screenshot, hold down the Windows button and the volume down button. This will work in most cases on a two-in-one laptop and always on a Surface tablet. On some laptops though, it won’t work and instead the Narrator will turn on. If that’s the case then the screenshot function has been tied to the Windows + Volume Up button. Press and hold it for roughly ten seconds to take a full screenshot. Time it perfectly so that the buttons are pressed at the same time.

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If your laptop/tablet used to take screenshots perfectly with the Windows + Volume Down key but has stopped working, try the other combo. An update to Windows 10 might have caused the Windows + Volume Down to stop working or tied it to a different feature.